Crib attachment



C. E. MIXON CRIB ATTACHMENT Oct. 15, 1968 Filed June 5, 1967 mm M mm .M

mi w A w 7 United States Patent 3,405,412 CRIB ATTACHMENT Clyde E. Mixon, Jacksonville, Fla., assignor to Pedicraft, Inc, Jacksonville, Fla, a corporation of Florida Filed June 5, 1967, Ser. No. 643,424 14 Claims. (Cl. -100) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A selectively releasable safety attachment for a sliding side gate crib having an end post and a guide rod attached thereto, including an L-shaped member having an elongated generally vertical leg and a generally horizontal leg and being adapted and arranged to be positioned between the end post and the guide rod of the crib. The horizontal leg being adapted to be mounted to the guide rod adjacent its lower end, and the vertical leg being positionable between the guide rod and the end post and extending upwardly from the horizontal leg and being engage-able with the lower edge of the sliding side gate. The attachment further including a leaf spring attached to the vertical leg for biasing the upper end of the vertical leg into engagement with the guide rod. The safety attachment being adapted and arranged to releasably maintain the sliding side gate in a predetermined position intermediately between its upper closed position and its lower opened position.

Background and summary of the invention This invention pertains to improvements in a crib or infants bed. More particularly, the invention relates to a safety attachment for a childs crib, especially that type of crib as found in pediatric wards of hospitals.

The typical crib or infants bed as usually found in the pediatric wards of hospitals is provided with sides or gate like members along its sides. These sides are slida'bly mounted to the crib and adjust from a fully raised position, in which the upper edges of the side gates are adjacent the upper edges of the ends of the crib, such as to completely retain the child within the crib, even when the child is standing in an erect position, to a fully lowered position, in which the upper edges of the side gates are below the mattress, such that the child and mattress within the crib are fully exposed and accessible to the doctor, nurse or other like person attending or administering to the child in the crib. When either one or both of the side gates are in their lowermost position, having been either inadvertently left in the lowermost position or accidentally fallen to this position upon actuation or failure of the catch mechanism, which normally holds the side gate in its uppermost position, the child within the crib can accidentally and inadvertently roll on the mattress therein and fall therefrom onto the floor below, oftentimes resulting in pain, suffering and damage to himself along with the inconvenience and wasted time and energy of the attendant needed to return the child to the crib.

Therefore it is a general object of this invention to provide a safety attachment which is readily mountable upon existing cribs, particularly those types as found in the pediatric wards of hospitals, which will alleviate the above mentioned problems.

Another general object of the invention is to provide a safety attachment for a pediatric crib which is capable of maintaining the side gates thereof in a position such that the doctor, nurse or other like person attending or administering to the child in the crib has full access to the child, while at the same time maintaining the upper edges of the side gates in positions above the upper surface of the crib mattress such that the child within the crib cannot inadvertently and accidentally roll or fall from the crib to the floor therebelow.

A further general object of this invention is to provide a safety attachment for a pediatric crib which prevents the side gates thereof from accidentally falling or inadvertently being positioned in positions with the upper edges thereof below the upper surface of the mattress, such that the child in the crib could inadvertently or accidentally roll or fall from the crib to the floor below.

In general these objects are accomplished by providing a safety attachment for use with existing cribs, particularly those types of cribs found in the pediatric wards of hospitals, and readily mountable thereon and attachable thereto. The attachment including portions positionable at the ends of the side gates of the crib, and positionable between those ends and the end posts of the crib. The attachment is spring biased such as to always maintain the side gates in position, upon their being lowered from their uppermost position, such that the upper edges of the side gates are approximately four to six inches above the upper surface of the mattress of the crib, thereby providing full and complete access to the child in the crib by the doctor, nurse or other like person attending or administering to the child within the crib, While at the same time preventing the child within the crib from inadvertently or accidentally rolling or falling from the crib onto the floor therebelow. The attachment is so constructed and arranged, that upon deliberate manipulation and operation thereof the side gate can be lowered to its lowermost position'if so desired. Additionally, the attachment is arranged such that the side gate cannot accidentally or inadvertently be lowered beyond the point where the upper edge thereof is approximately four to six inches above the surface of the mattress within the crib, without the deliberate manipulation and operation of the attachment, as hereinabove mentioned.

Description of the drawings The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the crib attachment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one corner of a crib showing the crib attachment of this invention in combination with the crib;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 55 of FIG. 2.

Detailed description With detailed reference to the drawings now, and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, the crib attachment 10 of this invention is shown therein in detail (FIG. 1) and is shown in combination with a crib 12 (FIG. 2). Attachment 10 is seen to include an L-shaped member 14 having a short leg 16 and a long leg 18 positioned at approximately right angles to one another. Short leg 16 is provided with a square opening 20, the function and purpose of which will be discussed hereinbelow. Member 14 is fabricated from material which is relatively stiff and unbendable, but yet which is somewhat flexible over the elongated leg portion 18 thereof. Attached to the upper end 22 of leg portion 18 is a cross-bar or member 24 which projects beyond both the outer edges of leg 18.

The attachment of cross-bar 24 to the upper end of leg 18 is accomplished by means of rivets 26. Positioned on the projecting ends of cross-bar 24 is a pair of bumpers or shock absorbing members 28, which are of a rubber or plastic material and frictionally held in place with the projecting ends of member 24 being positioned through a central opening within each bumper 28. Attached to the upper portion of elongated leg 18 is a leaf spring 30 whose upper end 32 terminates adjacent the upper end 22 of elongated leg 18 and is spaced therefrom. Leaf spring 30 is attached to elongated leg 18 by means of rivets such as at 34. Attached to the upper end 32 of leaf spring 30 is a U-shaped member 36 having side portions 38 and 40 extending outward from spring 30 in a direction away from leg 18. U-shaped member 36 is attached to spring 30 by means of rivets such as at 42.

With particular reference to FIG 2 now, the crib attach ment of this invention is shown therein in combination with a crib, or more particularly a typical pediatric crib 12. Crib 12 includes a corner end post 44, a top end rail 46 and a bracing or rigidifying member 48 extending between the end posts. Attached to end post 44 by means of an upper L-shaped bracket 50 and a lower L-shaped bracket 52 is a guide rod 54 on which is slidably mounted one end 56 of a sliding side gate 58. The opposite end of sliding side gate 58 is similarly slidably mounted to the opposite end of the crib 12. The lower end of guide rod 54 is positioned within and extends through a central opening 60 within the lower L-shaped member 52 (see FIG. 4), and the upper end thereof is secured to the underside of upper L-shaped bracket 50 by means of a large threaded bolt 62 extending through the bracket 50 and into a threaded opening within the upper end of guide rod 54 (see FIG. 3). A shock absorbing member or bumper 64 is positioned about the lower end of guide rod 54 to cushion and absorb the impact of the lower edge 66 of end 56 of the sliding side gate when the same is lowered to its lowermost position. A washer 68 is provided on the underside of bumper 64 to help maintain the same in its original shape and prevent its being worked or pushed through opening 60 within bracket 52.

When in use on the crib, safety clip or crib attachment 10 is positioned between end post 44 and guide rod 54 with the short leg 16 of L-shaped member 14 being positioned on the upper surface of bracket 52 beneath the bumper 64 and its cooperative washer 68 and with the lower end of the guide rod 54 extending through the central opening within short leg 16. When the L-shaped member 14 is properly in place on the crib, the long leg 18 thereof is positioned between end rail 44 and guide rod 54 with the U-shaped member 36, attached to the upper end of leaf spring encompassing and partially surrounding end post 44 with the projections 38 and being positioned closely adjacent the sides of end post 44 (see FIG. 5), such as to maintain the attachment in position and prevent the same from turning about guide rod 54. When properly in position spring member 30 of the attachment will maintain upper end 22 of elongated leg 18 in contact with the face of guide rod 54 which is most closely adjacent end post 44, as more clearly depicted in FIGS. 2 and 5.

The sliding side gate 58 of crib 12 is usually provided with a catch mechanism (not shown) with which the side 58 can be maintained or locked in the fully raised position with the upper edge 70 of end 56 of the gate closely adjacent upper L-shaped bracket 50, or by which it can be maintained or locked in thefully lowered position with the lower edge 66 of end 56 of the side gate resting on the upper surface of shock absorbing member 64. At times this mechanism is additionally arranged such that the sliding side gate 58 may be maintained or locked in a position midway between the fully closed or upper position and the fully opened or lower position. When the sliding side gate 58 is in the fully opened or lower position with edge 66 resting on shock absorbing member 64,

the upper edge or rail 72 of the side gate 58 is positioned below, and at times substantially below, the upper surface or edge 74 of the crib mattress.

The purpose and function of the crib attachment 10 of this invention is two-fold in that it acts both as a safety device and as a convenient additional and releasable mechanism for stopping and maintaining the sliding side gate 58 of the crib in an additional position, which position is not only safe for the child in the crib, but also convenient for the doctor, nurse, or other like person attending or administering to the child in the crib. The attachmentlO of this invention maintains the upper rail or edge 72 of the sliding side gate 58 at a position approximately 4 to 6 inches above the upper edge or surface 74 of the crib mattress.

When desirable, the sliding side gate 58 may be released from the attachment 10 to fall to the fully lowered position, with edge 66 in engagement with shock absorber 64, by depressing bumper 28 and cross member 24 laterally against the force of spring 30 and out of engagement with the lower edge 66 of the end 56 of the side gate, as depicted in the dashed-line configuration of FIG. 5. The attachment 10 of this invention is used at each end of each sliding side gate, such as 58, thereby requiring four of the attachments, as depicted in FIG. 1, to make a complete set for each crib.

If upon approaching the crib, the person who is administering to or otherwise attending the child Within the crib, finds the sliding side gate 58 in the fully raised or closed position with upper edge 70 closely adjacent upper bracket 50 and wishes to gain access to the child within the crib, he will release the side gate 58 using its catch mechanism (not shown) hereinabove described such that the side gate 58 will drop to a position where the lower edge 66 of end 56 will engage the top 22 of the elongated leg 18 of attachment 10. With the sliding side gate 58 securely held in this position, with the edge 66 of the gate engaged with the edge 22 of the attachment, the upper edge or rail 72 of the gate is maintained at a position approximately 4 to 6 inches above the upper surface 74 of the mattress, such that a person may readily administer to or otherwise attend the child within the crib; and yet feel confident that the child therein cannot inadvertently roll on the mattress and fall therefrom onto the floor below, When used in this manner the attachment 10 of this invention acts as an additional stop or positioning device for the sliding side gate 58 maintaining the same at a convenient height which provides for the safety of the occupant within the crib and at the same time permits a person to readily and without interference administer to or otherwise attend the child within the crib. When the safety device of this invention is employed with the sliding side gate of a crib, it becomes impossible to inadvertently drop the side gate to a position such that the child within the crib can accidentally roll therefrom falling onto the floor below. This is so, as the upper end 22 of elongated leg 18 is constantly forced by spring member 30 into engagement with guide rod 54, such that upon the dropping of the sliding side gate 58 lower edge 66 of the end 56 thereof will engage the upper end 22 of the attachment and be maintained in a position such that the top rail 72 is spaced 4 to 6 inches above the upper edge 74 of the mattress whereby the occupant of the crib cannot accidentally fall therefrom.

If and when it is desirable to lower the sliding side gate 58 to the completely opened or lowermost position, the safety device 10 can be operated to release the side gate 58 such that the same can fall from its intermediate safety position, as depicted in FIG. 2, to its fully opened or lowermost position. This is accomplished by operating the safety attachment at one end of the crib side gate, in a manner as to depress laterally, against the force of spring 30, cross member 24, upper edge 22 and tips 28 from their contact and close proximity to guide rod 54, such as to disengage lower edge 66 of the gate from upper edge 22 of the safety attachment whereby this end of the sliding side gate 58 is permitted to drop approximately one to two inches, being held in that position by the safety attachment at the other end of side gate 58. Upon release of safety attachment at the other end of the sliding side gate 58, by a similar manipulation, the side gate is permitted to fall to its fully opened or lowermost position with the lower edge 66 resting upon shock absorbing member 64. If it is now desired to reset the sliding side gate 58 in its auxiliary or safety position as depicted in FIG. 2, the attendant will move the same from its fully opened or lowermost position upward along the guide rods, as at 54, until the lowermost edge 66 of the gate passes or moves above the uppermost edge 22 of the attachment such that edge 22 is forced by spring 30 against the side of guide rod 54. Upon the attendants release of gate 58, the same will be engaged by the safety attachment such as to become maintained and secured in its intermediate, safety position as depicted in FIG. 2; although if desired, the attendant could continue moving gate 58 upward along the guide rods until the same reached its fully closed or uppermost position, and then secure and maintain the same in this position employing the catch mechanism (not shown) hereinabove described.

The safety attachment 10 is readily mountable upon the typical crib 12 by first removing large threaded bolt 62 from the upper L-shaped bracket 50 and the threaded opening Within the upper end of guide rod 54; this step and the succeeding steps being carried out at both ends of sliding guide gate 58. Next the guide rod 54 is slid from the underside of the upper bracket 50 and the side gate 58 removed from the top thereof. The guide rod 54 with bumper 64 and its cooperative washer 68 are then moved upward from the lower L-shaped bracket 52 such that the attachment can he slipped over the lower end of guide rod 54 with the same being positioned within and extending through opening within the short leg 16 of the attachment 10. The guide rod 54 with the attachment 10 and bumper 64 positioned thereon is then inserted within and through opening 60 of lower L-shaped bracket 52, and the sliding side gate is then repositioned upon the guide rod 54. Lastly, the upper end of guide rod 54 is reattached to the upper bracket 50, and the attachment 10 is properly positioned between end post 44 and guide rod 54 with the U-shaped member 36 being positioned about end post 44.

While only a certain preferred embodiment of this invention has been shown and described by way of illustration, many modifications will occur to those skilled in the art and it is, therefore, desired that it be understood that it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed as new and what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a crib having stationary end walls, at least one slidable side gate, and a bottom on which a mattress is disposed, each end wall including an end post, a guide rod spacedly mounted to the end post, the side gate being slidably mounted on the guide rod and adjustable from an upper wall forming or closed position with the end walls to a lower open position with the upper edge of the side gate being positioned generally below the upper surface of the crib mattress, the improvement comprising a selectively releaseable safety catch positioned between the end post and the guide rod, one of the side gate and the end post having a shoulder operatively engageable with said catch, spring means for biasing said catch toward said shoulder, said catch when engaged with said shoulder maintaining the upper edge of the side gate spacedly above the upper surface of the crib mattress between the closed position and the open position of the side gate thereby providing a relatively short side wall position for the side gate to prevent accidental falling of a child from the crib.

2. In the crib as defined in claim 1 wherein said shoulder constitutes a portion of the side gate and said spring means biasing said catch towards said guide rod.

3. In the crib as defined in claim 1 wherein said safety catch includes means disposed remotely below the upper surface of the mattress for selectively releasing said catch from engagement with said shoulder.

4. In the crib as defined in claim 3 wherein said means disposed remotely below the upper surface of the mattress includes a handle attached to said catch, said handle being disposed transversely to the side gate and protruding outwardly of the crib side.

5. In the crib as defined in claim 1 wherein said safety catch includes an L-shaped member including an elongated generally vertical leg iand a generally horizontal leg, said horizontal leg being mounted to the guide rod adjacent its lower end, said vertical leg being positioned between the guide rod and the end post and extending upwardly from said horizontal leg, said shoulder constituting the lower edge of the side gate, the upper end of vertical leg being engageable with the lower edge of the side gate, said spring means biasing the upper end of said vertical leg into engagement with said guide rod whereby the lower edge of the side gate will abut said upper end of said vertical leg when the side gate is released from the closed position.

6. In the crib as defined in claim 5 wherein said spring means includes a leaf spring having opposite ends with one end being attached to said vertical leg and extending upwardly toward the end post, said other leaf spring end being in engagement with the end post, a U-shaped bracket attached to said other leaf spring end, said bracket engaging the end post to laterally maintain said safety catch in position between the end post and the guide rod.

7. In the crib as defined in claim 1 further comprising another selectively releasable safety catch positioned between another end post and another guide rod at the opposite end of the one slidable side gate, one of the side gate at its opposite end and the other end post having a shoulder operatively engageable with said other catch, spring means for biasing said other catch toward said shoulder, both said safety catches being released from engagement with respective said shoulders before the side gate can be lowered from its short side wall position to its open position.

8. In the crib as defined in claim. 5 wherein the crib includes a bracket attached to the end post adjacent its lower end and having an opening therethrough for the reception thereinto of the lower end of the guide rod, said horizontal leg of said L-shaped member having an opening therethrough for the reception thereinto of the lower end of the guide rod, said Opening of said horizontal leg being aligned with said opening of said bracket, and the lower end of the guide rod passing through said aligned openings.

9. A selectively releasable safety attachment for a sliding side gate crib having an end post and a guide rod attached thereto, comprising a member adapted and arranged to be positioned between the end post and the guide rod of the crib, said member when attached to the crib being operatively engageable with a shoulder on one of the end post and side gate of the crib, and spring means attached to said member for biasing said member toward the shoulder, said safety attachment being adapted and arranged to releasably maintain the side gate in a predetermined position intermediately between the upper closed position and the lower opened position.

10. The safety attachment as defined in claim 9 wherein said member is engageable with a shoulder on the side gate and said spring means biasing said member towards the guide rod.

11. The safety attachment as defined in claim 9 further comprising a handle attached to said member and disposed transversely thereof for selectively releasing said member from engagement with the shoulder thereby permitting the side gate to be lowered into its lower open position.

12. The safety attachment as defined in claim 10 wherein said member is L-shaped and includes an elongated generally vertical leg and a generally horizontal leg, said horizontal leg being adapted to be mounted to the guide rod adjacent its lower end, said vertical leg being positionable between the guide rod and the end post and extending upwardly from said horizontal leg, the upper end of said vertical leg being engageable with the lower edge of the side gate constituting the shoulder engageable with said member, said spring means biasing the upper end of said vertical leg into engagement with the guide rod.

13. The safety attachment as defined in claim 12 wherein said spring means includes a leaf spring having opposite ends with one end being attached to said vertical leg and extending upwardly therefrom, a U-shaped bracket attached to said other leaf spring end, said bracket being engageable with the end post to laterally maintain said member in position between the end post and the guide rod.

14. The safety attachment as defined in claim 12 wherein said horizontal leg has an opening therethrough for the reception thereinto of the lower end of the guide rod whereby said member may be readily attached to the crib.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,357,218 8/1944 Merrett 5-ll 3,193,849 7/1965 Landry 5-100 3,221,350 12/1960 Atkinson 5-100 X 3,300,795 1/ 1967 Siegel 5-10O CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primaly Examiner. 

